Clutch-yoke.



J. T. TRUMBLE.

CLUTCH YOKE.

APPLIOATION FILED PEB. 2s, 1914.

1,1 16, 171 Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

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UNITED. STATES IDATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. TRUMBLE, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T CHEVROLET MOTOR COMPANY, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

CLUTCH-YOKE.

Tall Azr/mm it may concern `-Be .it known that I, JOHN T. TRUMBLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Flint. in the county of Genesee, State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cluteli-Yo-kes;\and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art t0 which it appertains to make, construct, and use the same. f

One object of my invention is to provide a selflubricating clutch-yoke.

Another object is to provide a construe tion whereby the lubrication of the portion of the mechanism involved is accomplished efliciently. neatly and without waste of lubricatinf r material.

A\nother object is to so construct the mechanisui comprisingr my invention that the yoke may be .supplied with the lubricant with the same ease and despatch a's in the case where an ordinary oil cup is utilized for storing oil adjacent to the parts to be lubricated sothat the oil ma)Y be automatically fed to lubricante Vthe moving parts of the mechanism.

Other objectswill appear from the subjoined description and claims.

In the acompanying drawing. I have shown the inventionapplied to'operate the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1914.

Application flied February as, 1914." serial 110.321,64.

1 and 2 indicatepthe frame portionl of the chassis upon which the operative parts are mounted, 3 indicates a flanged clutch collar constructed to slide longitudinally upon the shaft 3 which is mounted on the chassis, 5 and 5 indicatethe flanges upon the clutch collar, and (3 the outer yoke which is prof vided at each end with arms 7 mounted in bearings 8 upon the frames 1 and 9. Suitable lubricating .cups'9 are provided for these bearings.

1() indicates: the foot lever rigidly secured to an 4arm of the. vouter yoke 6, and 11 and 12 are`arms or lugs extendingr below the yoke frame G in -each of which is adjustably secured a vpivot. screw 13, the ends of which.l screws form pivot bearings upon which the inner clutch-yoke is mounted. The said inner clutch-yoke. 20 is U-shaped and is constructed of a suitable composition metal cast to the bearings, I provide openings exusual clutch mechanism of an automobile by means ot which the driving shaft is connected and disconnected to and `from the engine.

y'ith these and other objects in View, the invention consists of the novel features ot' construction. combination and arrankaenient of part as will be more fully hereinafter described. and particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

Ieferrirml to the aeconipanyinT drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved. vokc mechanism as applied tothe ordinaryl clutch of an automobile structure` parts of .said structure bein; 4shown in Section. Fig. 2 is a view partly in section taken on line im! et' lig. l. Fig. 23 isa vertical .section of the inner clutch `voke. Fig. 4 is an end elevation ot' the inner clutch yoke partly in section or viewed in the direction of the arrow 4 in kia'. lifr. is a plan View of the inner `voke with parts broken away to .show the interior construction.

In the drawingr likereference numerals refer i1.- lke parts in the various views.

l tending1r into the cored cavity 15, which openings are filled by permanently inserted plugs of fibrous material 31, preferably of v wood, which plugs extend through the cavity. one end of which abuts against the inner end of the cavity and the other end is [lush with the outer bearing surface of the yoke. It is within the scope, of my invention. to provide as many plugs as needful, but l have found that as a rule two plugs in each arm on the rear outer friction surface and one plug?r in each arm in the front outer friction surface is sulicient for lubrieating,r purposes.

In the top of the yoke in the arch is provided a feed opening 2G whichis closed by a cover 72T by means of adjusting screws 2S. .Inst below the rover and Substantially fillingthe upper part of the cored cavity is placed a piece of fibrous material, preferablv felt, indicated at 40, to prevent undue splashing and leakingr of the lubricant from the yoke.

In the operation of my invention, the cover 2T is temporarily removed by removingz,T a fastening?r screw and swinging,r the cover around the other screw and the piece of felt 40 is also removed from its place in the core. The lubricating material is then inserted in the core of the inner yoke substantially filling thesame. rI`he preferred size of th core is suflicient to hold approximately one-quarter of a pound of grease. The felt piece is then inserted and the cover is screwed in place.

Upon rocking the outer yoke frame by means of the lever, as shown, or by other suitable means, power is applied to the inner yoke structure through the rocking of the outer yoke to disconnect the clutch of the automobile against the usual spring pressure applied thereto. Then the pressure on the yoke is released, the clutch is moved into opposite position by the usual clutch spring or otherwise, and the' inner yoke will assume anupright position upon its pivots between the flanges of the clutch collar. Vhen the clutch is engaged the yoke is of such a size that it will rest in the space between the clutch collar without undue friction thereon. The lubrication of `parts is accomplished by the slowly oozing of the grease or lubricating material through the pores of the fibrous plugs which are inserted in the walls of the yoke, and this renders a sufficient lubrication of the moving parts for all practical purposes, the plugs tightly engaging the walls of the yoke.

As has been stated, by the use of my invention, the lubrication of the parts of the mechanism to which it is applied is efliciently accomplished without undue waste of material and without causing the accumulation of dirt and spattering of oil which would otherwise take place.

It is to be understood that the embodiment of my invention as described and illus- Itrated, is exemplary and that detailed changes may be made in the construction thereof without departing from the spirit thereof, or its scope as defined by the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is z- 1. A clutch-yoke having a. bearing surface and provided with means within itself to hold a supply of lubricant and to apply the lubricant to the bearing-surface.

2. A clutch yoke having an outer bearing surface and provided with a cavity and a fibrous connection between the said bearing surface and cavity.

3. A clutch yoke provided with a cavity, a wall of the yoke having an, opening therethrough communicating with the cavity, and a fibrous material in said opening.

4. A clutch yoke provided with a cavity, one of the walls thereof having a bearing surface, and having minute passages between the cavity and the bearing surface.

5. An inner clutch yoke having suitable bearing surfaces and which is provided with a cavity throughout and a fibrous connection between an outer bearing surface and the cavity.

G. An inner clutch yoke of the class described having a plurality of bearing surfaces, and provided with a cavity throughout and fibrous connections between the cavity and the bearing surfaces.

7. A clutch yoke of the class described of substantial U shape, having a cavity therein extending throughout the same and provided with'a plurality of bearing surfaces, and provided also with an opening through one of the walls thereof for the insertion of lubricating material into the cavity, a cap or cover for said opening, means for detachably securing the cover in place and fibrous material inserted in the cavity at the opening, fibrous plugs extending` from the cavity through the walls of the yo 'e to the bearing surfaces thereof.

8. In combination with a flanged clutchcollar of means for supporting the same, a yoke, and means for supporting the yoke in juxtaposition to the flanges of the collar, said yoke bein-g provided with means within itself to hold a supply of lubricant, and means to apply the lubricant to the surface thereof adjacent to a flange. l

9. A self contained lubricating clutch yoke provided with a cavity and having a friction bearing surface part of which surface is of fibrous material connecting with the cavity.

l0. An inner yoke provided with oppositely arranged friction bearing surfaces, journaled bushings secured to the arms of the yoke, fibrous material extending from the friction surfaces of the yoke into its core, and arranged substantially at right angles to the bushings.

1l. A hollow inner clutch yoke, provided i February, 1914.

JOHN T. TRUMBLE.

In presencejof- A. B. C. HARDY,

GrERTRUDr.L VHi'rAoRE. 

